Tim Benz: Young Jedi Tristan Jarry should rebound after Penguins’ ‘Star Wars’ night loss

AT&T SportsNet’s Penguins reporter Dan Potash got into the mood for “Star Wars” night at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday.

The Force is with me...how about you?? Puck drop is seconds away! -DP #StarWarsThemeNight @penguins @NHLNetwork pic.twitter.com/QaAPxD9Yqk

— AT&T SportsNet™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) December 11, 2019

Unfortunately for the Pens, the Montreal Canadiens were wielding their sticks like Potash’s lightsaber, slicing the Penguins defense along the way to a 4-1 road win.

Through the first period, it appeared that goaltender Tristan Jarry may be en route to a third straight shutout after carrying a 1-0 lead into the locker room for the first intermission.

But his franchise-record scoreless streak was snapped at 177:55. That’s when Tomas Tatar scored a power-play goal 12:24 into the second period that tied the game at 1-1.

Tuna brise la séquence de 177min sans but du gardien Jarry.

Tuna ends Jarry’s 177-minute shutout streak.#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/TkVYbd2hVe

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) December 11, 2019

Tomas Vokoun previously held the record with a stretch of 173:06 in the 2012-13 season.

The Canadiens went on to score twice more in the second period. Then they added an empty netter to make the final score 4-1.

Despite the loss, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said that he still saw the traits that made Jarry so solid during his hot stretch.

“I thought he was good,” Sullivan said of Jarry. “For me, it’s his compete level. His focus. He was tracking the puck. He made some big saves for us in the second period.”

But the Penguins collectively were so bad in those 20 minutes of the middle period that the Canadiens still had a multitude of scoring opportunities despite some of the saves Jarry made.

“They put a lot of pressure on,” Jarry said. “They are a hard team. They get a lot of pucks on (net). They shoot from everywhere. It’s just one of those things where we have to be ready at all times.”

Being ready at all times is something that has been a point of improvement for Jarry this year. Rick Tocchet had high praise for Jarry Friday night after the young goalie blanked his Arizona Coyotes 2-0. The former Penguins assistant coach can see some maturation in Jarry’s game.

“He’s a lot quieter in the net,” Tocchet said. “A couple of years ago, he was still a good goalie. But side to side, he kind of got out of control.

“Now, when he is going side to side, he is really locked in. He’s there for the second shot. The really good goalies make that first stop when they are out of the net. Then they make the second stop. The really good goalies — (Marc-Andre) Fleury, (Matt) Murray, (Darcy) Kuemper — they make that second save. They stop that first shot then they get into that position to make that second save.”

With the defeat, Jarry’s record dropped to 7-5-0. But even after allowing the three goals, his save percentage is .938 and his goals against average is 1.92. Both those marks lead the NHL.

It appears he is now reaching the potential that intrigued the Penguins enough to make him the 44th pick in the draft back in 2013. After playing in 26 NHL games back in 2017-18, he suited up just twice for the Penguins last year, spending most of his time in the AHL.

“Something I’ve been working on is managing my rebounds and putting them in a better spot for me to be able to get to. It’s something that, as you keep growing as a player, it helps as you go along,” Jarry said.

So, for a night, maybe Jarry’s deflector shields weren’t as sturdy as the Millennium Falcon’s. Perhaps he wasn’t wearing his Mandalorian beskar iron.

But the good news for the Penguins is that “the force” appears to be strong with this one.

At least for now.